Entry #032

Jan 4th - Feb 4th Mission shoot motion picture everyday, complete!

Entry #031

Day 031. Devil's Island B-roll from kevinAfraser on Vimeo.

Here is some video from yesterday's Devil's Island shoot. It could use a smooth-cam filter and some colour correction, but for now, here it is. Does it play choppy for you? I use the Polar Bear song for this cut, not because this shoot is related to that video, just because I really love the song.

Entry #030

I'm going to make it. Today is day #32 and the last scheduled day of this endeavor. I have two small shoots planed for later today and when they are completed, I've accomplished my goal. Thanks to everyone who followed the blog and kept me on track the whole way through. I've decided to extend the project for two more days to allow for a few left over shoots that did not fit within the allotted time frame. After that, I'll take a few days off and start getting around to processing all the footage I was not able to put up while shooting everyday.

Since I last posted I've done a few shoots including a RED-ONE/Canon 5D side by side comparison test with Christopher Ball CSC for Evan Kelly's upcoming feature film "Corridor". I also shot the sunrise over Devils Island for Courtney Kelsey & Zac Barkhouse's documentary about the island. (The video is exporting as I type). Last night I shot a dinner scene which marked the third collaboration of the month with Eric Duncan. It was a challenging exercise in lighting continuity. I'm looking forward to having a bit of downtime to look at the footage. This afternoon Jason Levangie and I start shooting a music video for Cousins which will also take place tomorrow. Tonight, I'll finally get a chance to try my super experimental exposure / lighting push the limits super fun test....

Although my days of consecutive shooting are nearing an end, I still owe you guys a bunch of stuff so stay tuned for footage that has not made it online yet, green screen test results and edits of the months highlights. Also, I have a few more camera tests planed, for example I've come to understand that lower ISO settings with the 5D do not necessarily equate to less noise. Test soon.

Thanks for helping me reach my goal, if you keep checking back there will be new content every few days at least for the next month or so. After that, who knows if I will have the discipline to continue a blog for the long term. Only time will tell.

Entry #029

It's February! Only three more days until I have fulfilled my goal of shooting everyday from Jan 4th to Feb 4th (32 straight days).

We ended up shooting the music video for Judge Bitch with the Sony EX3. It was a real light hog but since the non-existent budget did not allow for RED, I think it was the right choice overall. I'll put a clip up as soon as I learn how to deal with the Sony footage.

Today, I canceled an afternoon shoot with Glen Matthews so I could prepare for a more involved evening shoot. Unfortunately, my evening shoot ended up getting canceled leaving me to come up with something on the spot to shoot today. I called in a favor with my friend Jared and had Angela come out to work the dimmer, we got a shot despite the sub zero temperature.

There is lots of exciting stuff left to do over the last few days including a two Music videos, one for the band Cousins to be directed by Jason Levangie and another for Mary Stewart who has a much more dedicated blog project underway. She is writing a song every single day for a YEAR!!!! Check it out here, follow her blog and cheer her on!

Earlier in the month I sent the link to this blog to Brendan Stacey, a Toronto based DP whom I really look up to. I asked him where my shooting could improve and he gave me really great advice. He said that since this was a self driven project where I don't have a client, agency or studio to impress, and the stakes are generally low, I should be pushing myself to really test the boundaries of what is possible and acceptable. He challenged me to shoot something I've never seen before. Which scared me good, but I've come up with an idea. I'm convinced it might be a colossal failure, but I'm excited to try. I'm shooting it tomorrow night and will give an update with how it goes.

When I wrap up this project, I'm planning on posting a video of highlights from the month. I've had a couple editors express interest in putting that video together. If you are an editor and you would like some footage to play with, let me know. The more the merrier. I'm going to make a folder of selects and if you'd like to have some fun I'll give you the footage then I'll post your cut here on my blog. Any takers? image@kevinAfraser.com

If you'd like to watch videos but do not wish to browse through all of the previous pages, here is that Vimeo link again: http://vimeo.com/channels/kevinafraser

Thanks for reading.

Entry #028

I figured since I could not put up much video I should at least put up enough stills that if you scroll through really fast it might look like motion picture. These two photos are an example of why you only see video every once and a while now, All those things in the picture are hard drives that all have something in common; minimum allowable free space (or worse). The screen-grab shows the state of my main storage workhorse, the Drobo. Somehow three months ago, 5tb seemed like a lot of space. My next task is to look through all of my footage take by take and delete all of the non-printables once and for all.



The next is a photo of a 5D and the 7D. This is the second time I've gotten to use the 7D, it's similar to the 5D but with many of the main buttons in slightly different places. I always feel a bit slow when I'm working with it because I am now proficiently programed to the layout of the 5D. Today was my first time processing and working with the 60P slow-mo from the 7D. It adds another step to the already process heavy work-flow of these cameras, but it's worth it. The variable frame firmware Canon promised for the 5D can't make it here soon enough.



This is the set up for a camera test Scott Thorne and I performed today. Everybody knows any camera test worth doing requires you to move the furniture out of your living room and hang grid pipe!

We wanted to look at the Sony EX 3 VS the Canon 7D in regards to slow motion. We shot tests with both cameras at 500th, 1000th and 2000th of a shutter. Then continued to shoot 3200th and 4000th with the 7D (The EX3 maxes out at 2000th). Both cameras were set to 1280 X 720 60P. The Sony was set to 0db gain and the aperture ring used to set exposure. The 7D was outfitted with a relatively slow f4 lens, the ISO was used to set exposure. Scott stood in the beam from a Source four providing 480 foot candles which is about the maximum I'll have to work with on the music video tomorrow.

7D slow mo test. 60 to 120FPS 001 from kevinAfraser on Vimeo.

002 7D Slow-mo Test. 60 to 120fps. from kevinAfraser on Vimeo.

Above are two videos from the 7D slowed even further in post from 60fps to 120fps. One was shot at 500th shutter ISO 320, the other shot at 4000th of a shutter and ISO 2000. Can you tell which is which?

There is no footage available from the EX3, because I'm still figuring out how to work with it. I'm not an advocate of lower end Sony cameras, but the footage from the test looks ok, it seems to have a flatter (better for color grading) image with noticeably more dynamic range than the 7D. Also, because our video tomorrow involves people in a black void, there is no real need for the shallow depth of field provided by the Canon. At this point, I'm leaning toward the EX3 but I have NOT been able to view the test footage in slow motion yet. Any Sony fans out there wanna get in touch to fill me in? image@kevinAfraser.com

Polar Bear Clip. from kevinAfraser on Vimeo.

Finally, here is a clip of raw footage from the Acres & Acres video. Sure, it's not very exciting now, but imagine what it will look like once Jacob replaces that green screen with an arctic night sky! Check out his site to see the kind of work he does. It's truly incredible.

Entry #027

Things have ramped up to the point where I literally have not had a moment to blog over the last day or so. Aram and I are shooting Day and night for the Polar Bear Video. With a stoke of luck, we will be done the ice portion of the shoot sometime tonight.

In other news, I have the chance tomorrow to stack up a Sony EX3 against a 7D. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the "Judge Bitch" music video we are doing involves a lot of slowmotion that needs to be shot at 60fps and then slowed to 120fps or beyond in post. I shot a quick test with the EX3 on Wednesday to determine how much light would be necessary for both 1000th and 2000th of a shutter at 60FPS. Turns out, to no surprise, to require a lot of light. So, I'm very interested to test it against the 7D which is more light sensitive and offers even faster shutters as a possibility. Also, I think I have a lead on finding a follow focus system for the 7D, But not for the EX3. On the flip side the EX3 offers tighter lensing options than I currently have available with the Canon and would be easier to rig and use a production monitor. Either way I'll post the slow-mo tests on here as soon as I can.

Entry #027

Hey everyone,

Not interested in reading? Videos here.

My wrist is starting to feel better. I'd say that most of the day it's back to about 80% usefulness, although three or four times a day I'll pick up something the wrong way or use the computer for too long and get set back a bit. Otherwise shooting is going well, I had a chance to look at the footage from the Ghost Trick shoot on Sunday and found a very embarrassing ghost C-stand in one of the shots that had some how gone unnoticed during shooting, a rookie mistake. Despite this, I can't wait to do this trick again, with a custom built set or a very large location with lots of black material, flags and high ceilings. With more space, more flexibility to rig and a dimmer board you could have so much fun with this. If anyone has access to some flats, a studio, 2-3 big pieces of lexan and wants to do a more polished ghost trick effect, be sure to let me know. Earlier that the day Paul came out and operated steadicam for some running shots I'll probably cut a couple of them into the next compilation video I put up.

I also shot another Mongoose interview since I last posted. This was the second last one, I've been having quite a bit of fun with these interviews so far. It's nice because there is both freedom and restriction. Sean is very easy going and trusts me to light to my taste, yet we decided early on to always use a kitchen backdrop which has been challenging at some of the locations. Also, these interviews are meant to take place in the summer rather than January, as a result, I may have pushed the last two interviews (Chisholm and Zurawski) too warm in camera. Usually I always shoot neutral to save for the color correct, but this time I went for it in camera and learned my lesson. This last interview with Matt Chisholm was shot in Angela & my apartment at night. It's my attempt at creating a day interior with only small fixtures. How did I do? (See screen grab)

Yesterday Aram and I officially started rolling on the music video for Acres & Acres "the polar bear song". We shot both video and timelapse of some melting ice blocks against green screen. While they were clicking away, Aram, Louisa (a very cool art department person I just met) and myself went outside and constructed a large, snowy, mountainous landscape we plan to shoot on Thursday. There are concerns about it melting during the day today if the temperature stays warm, also there are concerns of getting into Aram's living room, which we completely ransacked in the name of this project. Finally there are concerns about it taking several days to melt. Based on our tests, it seems hard to believe that we will be able to melt the landscape in any less than 48 hours. Despite all this, we will succeed and it will look awesome! Promise.

This Sunday Eric Duncan and I are collaborating on a music video for "Judge Bitch". It's a fairly ambitious project especially when you consider the the non existing budget we are hoping to work within VS what we hope to achieve. It looks like we will be able to pull it off due to the help and generosity of many many people. Which is exactly why I love working in Halifax. One of the main ideas of this video it that it takes place in slow motion. The look Eric wants is that of 120fps. Of course due to the pre-mentioned non-existent budget, it is unlikely we will be able to obtain a camera capable of 120fps. So today my shooting assignment is to test a few cameras at different shutter speeds to see how we can achieve the sharpest and most crisp edges possible in camera so when we slow it down in post, it holds up the best it can. This will of course require a silly amount of light. My goal for today is to see what is the highest shutter speed and frame rate we can achieve with the resources at hand.

PS. We need people to be in this video. Do you want to be one of these people? image@kevinAfraser.com.